Can-end clencher



I. F. WARME. CAN END CLENCHER. APPLICATION FILED'JULY 18. 1916.

Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI 1.

I. F. WARME.

CAN END CLENCHER.

APPLiCATION FILED JULY 18. 1916.

Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

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CAN END CLENCHER.

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v APPLICATION FIILED JULY 18. I9I6. Patented Jan.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVAR F. WAR/ME, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CONTINENTAL CANCOMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CAN-END CLENOHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 27, 1920.

Application filed July 18, 1916. Serial No. 108,971.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVAR F. W'ARME, a citizen of the United States,residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-End Clenchers, ofwhich the following is a description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in machines forclenching the ends on cans, and more particularly to a machine whereinthe can which has been previously filled is rounded up, a can end seatedtherein, and the curled edge of the can end turned underneath the flangeof the body at opposed points so as to clench the can end firmly to thecan body.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter wherein the can end is clenched to the can body by opposeddevices which move tangentially of the can body while turning the curlof the can end underneath the flange of the can body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter wherein a can having been previously filled is raisedunderneath a stack of can ends, rounded up, and the lowermost can endseated in the can, after which clenching devices operating atdiametrically opposed points separate the lowermost can end from thestack and roll the curl of the can end underneath the flange of the canbody for clenching said can end to the can body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device ofthe abovecharacter wherein the clenching members are provided with a cam ledgefor separating the lowermost can end from a stack of can ends. a curlinggroove for turning the curl of the can end underneath the flange of thecan body, and a releasing recess which permits the can bodies with theends clenched thereto to be released while the stack is supported bysaid clenching members.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a machine of theabove character wherein a plurality of cans may have their ends clenchedthereto simultaneously.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part behereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings, which show by way of illustration one embodiment of theinvent1on:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a gang machine embodyingthe im provements; v

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail showing the position of the can end and thestack before the can body has been moved relative to the stack forseating the can end in the can body;

Fig. 5 is a similar View, but showing the can end clenched to the canbody and Separated from the stack;

Fig. 6 is a detail showing the position of the clenching members forreleasing the'can body with the clenched end thereon;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of one of the clenching members;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 9 is a side View of the same;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view, showing the relative position of thecurling groove and the separating cam to the can body and can end whenthe can end is seated in the can body; and

Fig. 11 is a similar view, but showing the parts moved so as to curl thecan end underneath the flange on the can body and so as to separate thestack from the can end.

The invention consists primarily in means for supporting the can and astack holder, which stack holder is mounted on a supporting plate havingan opening therethrough which is tapered at its lower end to form acone-shaped wall adapted to engage the can body as it passes through theopening, for the purpose of rounding up the can body. Mounted to slidein the support for the stack on opposed sides of the opening areclenching members. Each clenching memher is formed with a ledge on whichthe can end rests before it is seated in the can body, and while on thisledge either the can body is raised or the stack with the supportreferred to lowered so as to cause the can end to be seated in the canbody. After the can end is seated in the can bodv, the clenching membersare moved in a direction tangentially of the can bodies, a separatingcam separates the lowermost can end from the stack, a curling grooveengages the curled edges of the can end and rolls the same underneaththe flange of the can body, thereby clenching the can end to the canbody, and a continued movement of these clenching members bringsrecesses in a line with the can end and can body so that the can bodieswith the clenched ends may be released while the stack is stillsupported by the clenching members. The clenching members are thenwithdrawn and the stack again drops onto the supporting ledge, placinganother can end in position to be clenched to the next can body.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

There is shown more or less diagrammatically an apparatus or machineembodying the invention, said machine including a sup porting base 1having a plurality of recesses each of which receives a disk 2. Thesedisks serve as supports for the filled can bodies which are indicated atC in Fig. l of the drawings. At each end of the supporting base there isa standard 3 which is rigidly secured to the supporting base. Mounted onthese standards is a stack supporting member l. As shown in thedrawings, the machine is a gang machine, and there are four stacks, onefor each can body. These stacks, as above noted, are carried by thisstack supporting member l which is formed with'four openings 5 intowhich the stacked can ends drop by gravity. For the sake of clearnessthe stacked can ends have been omitted in Fig. 1, but one stack is shownin Figs. t and 5.

The can ends are indicated at E. The openings 5 in the support arecylindrical in shape. At each side of the stack support a there is arecess 6. The support is also formed with openings 7 which lead fromthese recesses 6 into the openings 5. Mounted to slide in the recess 6at one side of the stack support is a bar 8. The recess is closed by acover plate 9 which is secured to the support by screws 10. This bar 8slides freely back and for h in the recess. At the other side of themachine there is a bar 11 which slides in the recess 6, and this is heldin place by a cap plate 12 secured to the support by screws 13. The bar8 is formed with a rack 1st, while the bar 11 is formed with a rack 15.These racks mesh with a gear 16 which is fast to a shaft 17, and thisshaft may be rotated in any desired way. The bars 8 and 11 are similarin construction, except that they are reversed, for the reason that,when the bar 8 is moving in one direction, the bar 11 is moving in theother direction.

Each bar has projecting cams extending therefrom, cut-away sectionsforming a supporting ledge, a separating cam, a curling groove, and areleasing recess. The supporting ledge is indicated at 18. Said bar iscut away at 19 so as to expose this ledge 18, and when the cut-awayportion 19 is in register with the opening 5, the stacked can ends willdrop onto the supporting ledge 18. This is the normal position of themachine.

The filled cans are placed on the supports 2 and the cans are eitherraised or the stack support with the stack is lowered so as to bringabout a relative movement between the can ends and the stack. The lowerface of the opening 5 is tapered as at 20. This tapering of the openingforms a coneshaped wall which will engage the upper edge of the can bodyand round up the same when this relative movement between the stack andthe can body occurs. A further movement of the can body will cause thecan end to be seated in the can body. In Fig. 4 of the drawings, the canbody is shown as coming up through the opening to engage the can endresting on the supporting ledges 18 of the bars 8 and 11.

After the can end has been fully seated in the can body, then the flangeof the can body, indicated at f, will be raised to a point above theledge 18. In line with the upper face of the ledge 18 is a curlinggroove 21. Directly above the curling groove and leading down to a pointwhich is in a plane passing between the lowermost can end and the canend directly above the same is a separating cam 22. When the bar 11 ismoved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 9, the curling groove 21engaging the curl of the can end will turn the edge of the can endunderneath the flange of the can body at the point where said grooveengages the can end. At the same time, the separating cam 22 passesbetween the can ends.

In Fig. 10 there is shown diagrammatically the position of the can endand the can body just as the curling groove is engaging the edge of thecan end, while in Fig. 11 the edge of the can end has been rolledunderneath the flange on the can body and the separating cam hasseparated the stack from the lowermost can end. The continued movementof the bar 11 brings the .recess 23 into alinement with the can end, andthis recess is shaped so as to release the can end and the can bodywhich is clenched thereto.

From the above description, it will be apparent that the can end isclenched to the can body by a clenching member which moves tangentiallyof the can body, and that the clenching occurs at diametrically opposedpoints on the can end. This clenching member performs the doublefunction of clenching the can end to the can body and separating thestack from the lowermost can end, and serves as a support for the stackuntil the can end clenched to the canbody is released from the machine.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, springs 24 are shown interposed between thebase 1 and the support for the stacks, and these springs normally carrythe supports for the stack and the stack carried thereby. Limiting nuts25 determine the extent of upward movement caused by the springs 24. Thecan bodies, as noted above, are placed on the supports 2, and the stacksupport may be lowered by depressing the same which compresses thesprings 24, and this seats the can end in the can body. A rotation ofthe shaft 17 moves the rack bar 11 in one direction and the rack bar 8in the other direction, and this movement of these bars operates toperform the clenching of the can ends to the can bodies at pointsdiametrically opposite, as above explained. The continued movement ofthese bars finally releases the can ends and the can bodies and whenthe. bars are returned the stacks drop again on the supporting ledgestherefor, positioning the other can ends for a new set of can bodies.

While a gang machine has been shown, it will be understood that a singlemachine may be used embodying the features described for clenching thecan ends to the can bodies. It will also be understood that mechanismwhich has been shown more or less diagrammatically for the purpose ofillustrating the invention may be embodied in a full automatic machinetimed to feed the filled cans underneath the stacks to bring about arelative movement of the stack and the can bodies so as to seat the canend in the can body after which the clenching takes place.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and thearrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. T hecombination of means for supporting a can, means for placing a can endon said can, and opposed clenching members movable bodily tangentiallyof the can end for engaging the curled edge of the can end and turningthe same beneath the flange on the can body.

2. The combination of means for supporting a can underneath a stack ofcan ends. means whereby the lowermost can end of the stack may be seatedin the can, and opposed clenching members movable bodily tangentially ofthe can end for separating the seated can end from the stack and forclenching. said can end at diametrically 0pposed points to the can body.

3. The combination of means for support ing a can underneath a stack ofcan ends, means whereby the lowermost can end of the stack may be seatedin the can, and reciprocating clenching members each including a curlinggroove for curling the edge of the can end underneath the flange of thecan body, and a separating cam for lifting the stack from the can endthat is being clenched to the can body.

l. The combination of a can body support, a stack holder support havinga vertical opening therethrough, the lower edge of which is tapered forengaging and rounding up a can bodyopposed members slidablelongitudinally of the stack holder support, said opposed members eachhaving a supporting flange on which the stack of can ends rest until thecan body is seated on the can end, means for curling the edge of the canend underneath the flange on the can body, and means for separating thestack and lifting the same from the can end that is being clenched tothe can body.

5. The combination of means for supporting a can, a stack holder supportabove said can holder support and having a vertical openingtherethrough, the lower edge of said opening being tapered to round upthe can body, bars disposed on diametrically opposite sides of theopening and slidable on said stack holder support, each bar having aledge for supporting the stack. a curling groove for curling the edge ofthe can end underneath the flange on the can body, a separating cam forlifting the stack from the can end that is being clenched to the canbody, and a releasing recess whereby the clenched can end may bereleased while the stack is supported by said bars.

6. A gang can clenching machine includ ing in combination means forsupporting a plurality of cans, means for placing can ends on each canand opposed clenching members movable bodily tangentially of the cansfor simultaneously engaging the curled edges of the can ends and turningthe same beneath the flange of the can bodies to which they are to beattached.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

IVAR F. WAR-ME.

Witnesses:

LILLIAN W- TURNER, ROBERT A. BLOOD.

